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I jump in and start the car, skidding out of the parking lot and heading in the first direction I choose. I know I need to find a payphone and call Brax as soon as possible.
It’s 3 p.m. and there is still no word from Shay. I have a bad feeling that Evans did this just for fun, it’s his sick way of sending me a message about working for him. He knows that’ll never happen. In fact, he’ll be rotting in hell well before I even contemplate the idea.
My phone rings and I jump to my feet to answer it. Elle sits up straight away. She’s busy studying beside me on the couch, but I couldn’t concentrate on my textbook. My mind is too busy elsewhere.
I look at the caller ID and see that it’s from a blocked number again.
“Shay?” I answer.
“Yeah, bro. Can you talk?” he asks.
I look at Elle and nod to her so she knows it is Shay and that he’s okay before I disappear into the bedroom.
“Yeah, man. I can now. What the f**k happened?”
“Evans decided to send us a message in his sick f**ked up way. I’ve got a sore head but that’s all they did,” he explains.
“Thank god for that,” I say, relieved. “I shouldn’t have left until you were safe in your car.”
“It’s okay, B. I’m fine. I’ve figured out where I am now so I’m going to start driving back. Should take me about four hours to get back, then I need to go find my phone. I don’t have a clue where it is.”
“Doesn’t matter, bro, you’re fine now. So the message was all about me leaving Elle alone and us working for him?” I ask.
He laughs. “Seems that way, but f**k knows. I didn’t hear anything until I heard him yelling at you on the phone.”
“Dammit, sorry bro. I didn’t want you brought into this shit.”
“Brax, I’ve got your back always. Okay? You know that and I know you’ve got mine. We’re sweet,” he adds.
“Okay, well can you pop round when you get back? Elle’s worried about you. She just knows you disappeared, nothing else, obviously,” I explain carefully.
“Yeah, bro. See you soon.”
“And go pick up a burner phone somewhere. Your phone is lying in the parking lot across the road from the bar. Did they chuck it?”
“They must have. It’s all good, I’ll get a burner and go collect mine after I’ve seen you,” he adds before hanging up.
Chapter Nineteen
I hear the bedroom door open and Brax walks back into the living room towards me. He leans over and gives me a soft kiss on the lips and presses his forehead to mine, wrapping his hands around my neck.
“He’s okay,” he whispers.
“Oh, Brax, I told you he would be,” I reply as I jump to my feet and embrace him. I can feel him relaxing into my arms. It’s a strange feeling, me being the one to comfort him for once, but I like it. I know this is the perfect opportunity to find out what happened.
“So, where was he?” I ask.
“Uh… he ended up in Boston of all places,” he says with a grimace. Boston? That’s, like, three hours away from here.
“Why did he go there?” I inquire, still trying to work out the situation in my head.
“To see his old girlfriend apparently, but he was so tired by the time he got there that he just crashed out in his car and rang me as soon as he woke up.”
“Right,” I say, not buying the story. Shay doesn’t seem the type of guy to drive for three hours in the middle of the night just for sex with an old girlfriend. God, at the bar last night there were more than enough candidates for a one night stand.
“Now that he’s woken up, he’s heading back. Is it okay if he calls by on his way home? I said you were worried about him.”
“Yeah, it’ll be nice to see he’s okay, especially after you were so worried,” I say quietly, noticing a frown forming on Brax’s face. “What’s wrong, babe?”
“It’s nothing, sweetheart, don’t worry your pretty little head about it,” he says, giving me a quick kiss before grabbing his bag.
“Now that it’s all sorted, I should really head over to the library to look up some reference material for my management class. Shay also thinks he dropped his phone in the parking lot near the bar, so he asked if I could go have a look.
“Okay. Will you be home for dinner?” I ask.
“Definitely, darlin,” I hear him say from the hallway.
I sit back down on the couch and smile at Brax. I love the way he drawls when he says darlin’.
Now that I have time to think, I’m wondering why Shay ended up in Boston. When we left the bar last night he said he was going back inside to help clean up then go home. Something doesn’t seem to add up. I’m left pondering it while I pick up my English literature textbook and continue studying.
I hate lying to Elle, but I have to get out of the apartment to sort my head out. With everything going on, Shay missing for twelve hours was the last straw.
I dropped the ball last night. One of us always stays sober, which was why Shay didn’t drink much last night, but I was so caught up in Elle that I didn’t think twice about leaving him alone at the bar. Dammit! I punch my dash. I would never have forgiven myself had he been hurt, especially by my f**k up of a father. Until I see him tonight, I won’t know exactly what they did to him. Knowing what Evans’ men are like, I’d say he’s been roughed up at the very least.
My first instinct is to ring Evans and have a go at him, but he’s probably changed phone numbers by now anyway. He doesn’t trust anyone so he goes through burner phones like he changes underwear, that is why his number is always unknown. Even I can’t track him half the time. I just send a message through to his office and he always seems to have the time to call me straight back.
I drive around for a while, listening to old school rock in my car while I try to clear my head. When Shay gets back at least I’ll have a better idea of what happened. I don’t believe for a second that he was taken all the way to Boston just because daddy dearest wants us to work for him. He was sending another message, I just can’t work out what that is. Are we getting too close? Are we all at risk now? For all his faults, I know Evans would never stand by and let me be killed. Beaten, yes, but given that I’m one of only two sons he has, I know I’m safe when it comes to him. Maybe he knows something about Brimstone’s plans for Elle and, if he does, then how is he able to track us. I’m starting to think that we might have a rat in the organization.
